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If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
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An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls – which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
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Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
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I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
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- DO post questions about your issues.
- DO answer questions and support each other.
- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
- DO NOT post call problems here - there is a support tab at the top for that :)
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I heard from my cousin in sacramento that they're gunna do somthing for the summer months only bc of kids being home from school needing more food. not sure if its true tho
That's likely referring to the Summer EBT program, which is different from emergency allotments. Summer EBT provides additional benefits for families with school-aged children who would normally receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year. It's a federal program that California does participate in. The benefit is typically $120 per eligible child for the summer period, loaded onto either your existing EBT card or a separate card.
UPDATE: I finally got through to a CalFresh worker this morning (after trying different times of day). They confirmed there are NO plans for emergency allotments in California for 2025. However, the worker was very helpful about the Medical Nutrition Deduction! She sent me the CF 31 form and explained exactly what documentation I need. Apparently, I can claim the price difference between regular foods and gluten-free alternatives as a medical expense. She did say I need to track these expenses for at least a month before submitting the form. Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions!
That's great news about the Medical Nutrition Deduction! One additional tip: create a simple spreadsheet showing the regular product price vs. gluten-free price for each item. This makes it much easier for the worker to quickly verify and approve the deduction amounts. And take photos of price tags in stores when possible - these can serve as additional evidence of the price differentials.
So glad you got through! When you track those expenses, don't forget to include EVERYTHING - gluten-free bread, pasta, flour, crackers, cereals, etc. It all adds up! And definitely save all receipts and take pictures like the other person suggested.
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btw your neighbor was probably talking about the CalWORKs payment schedule, not CalFresh. those payments did get moved around this month because of the system update. easy to confuse all these different benefit types lol
That makes sense! She does get CalWORKs too. I get so confused with all these different benefits and their schedules.
Since your issue is a late SAR7 form, here's what you need to do immediately: 1) Complete and submit your SAR7 through BenefitsCal today 2) Call the county office to notify them you've submitted it late 3) Request 'restoration of lost benefits' since you weren't properly notified about the form being due. When you submit the SAR7, make sure to include all household income for the report month, any changes in household composition, and all required verification documents. The county has to process an SAR7 received within 30 days of the due date, even if it's late.
Thank you so much for the detailed steps! I just submitted my SAR7 online and uploaded my pay stubs. I'll call first thing tomorrow morning to follow up. Really appreciate everyone's help - this community is amazing!
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does anyone know if we get less benefits if we have money in savings? i deposited my tax refund last month (about $1200) and now im worried that made my benefits go down
CalFresh doesn't count your savings or bank account balances when determining eligibility or benefit amounts in most cases. Assets/resources are not counted for most households. Your benefits are primarily calculated based on income, household size, and allowable deductions. A tax refund also doesn't count as income for CalFresh purposes. So your deposit shouldn't have affected your benefits at all.
UPDATE: I finally got through to my county office this morning! Turns out there were TWO problems: 1. They miscalculated my income based on that one week I worked extra hours (they thought that was my regular pay) 2. Somehow my utility deduction got removed during my SAR7 processing The worker fixed both issues and said I should get the correct amount (plus back benefits for this month) within 10 days. She also updated my case notes to prevent this from happening again. For anyone else with suddenly lower benefits, definitely call and speak to a real person! The worker told me several people have had similar issues this month because of changes to their processing system.
see i TOLD everyone it was a system problem!!
HA! I knew it! ALWAYS CALL AND QUESTION THESE THINGS! They make "mistakes" constantly and most people just accept the lower amounts without fighting back. GOOD FOR YOU for advocating for yourself!!!
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When you submit your new application make sure you check the box for expedited services!! If your income is low enough right now they have to process your case within 3 days and issue benefits right away. The magic words are "expedited services" or "emergency CalFresh" when you talk to them. Also bring ID for everyone in household and proof of address to speed things up.
Thank you! My husband is picking up his pay stub tomorrow which shows his reduced hours. I'm going to submit our application tonight and then upload his pay stub as soon as we have it. This is such a stressful situation.
One important thing to know - if you're reapplying, benefits are never backdated to when you were cut off. They'll only start from the date of your new application. That's why it's important to reapply immediately rather than spending too much time trying to fix the old case (which sometimes can't be done if it's been discontinued for a certain period). For the immediate need while waiting for your application to process, most counties have Emergency Food Assistance Programs. Call 211 to find food banks and emergency assistance in your area that can help right away. Lastly, when you reapply, list all household expenses including rent, utilities, childcare costs, and medical expenses. These deductions can significantly increase your benefit amount by reducing your countable income.
That's good to know about the expenses. Our rent just went up and our electricity bill is crazy high with the kids home all day. I'll make sure to include everything.
Kolton Murphy
I was super paranoid about this too after my neighbor had her benefits stolen last year! The ConnectEBT app is what my case worker specifically told me to use. It's not the prettiest app but it works consistently. Just make ABSOLUTELY SURE you download the right one - there are some fake apps with similar names. The real ConnectEBT app is made by Conduent.
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Evelyn Rivera
•yea my sister downloaded something that LOOKED like the right app but it was fake and they stole all her benefits the next day!!1! be really careful!!
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Owen Jenkins
UPDATE: I downloaded the ConnectEBT app and it's working great! Thanks everyone for the help. It was super easy to set up - just needed my card number and PIN. Now I can check my balance before heading to the store. I also saved the phone number as a backup just in case.
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Lilah Brooks
•Great! Glad it worked out for you. Just remember to never share your PIN with anyone, even if they claim to be from CalFresh or the county office. They'll never ask for that information.
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